Farmer's Market Pizza

I love pizza. It is, along with the sandwich, one of the most versatile and perfect foods ever created. You can eat it three meals a day and your choice of toppings is nearly endless. I'm always in the mood for pizza. I've made pizza at home before, but always wussed out and picked a pre-made dough. I finally worked up the nerve to try fresh dough myself. I figured that even if the dough was a flop, I still had a bunch of fabulous toppings (most of which I picked up at the Farmers' Market) to rescue the dish.

I made Country Cleaver's pizza dough from this recipe (also, how freakin' BOMB do those toppings look!? Note for next time...). It is the only pizza dough I ever want to eat again in my life. I didn't use the flavored olive oil and I swapped a teaspoon of garlic powder instead of a fresh clove, but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. It was my first adventure with yeast and I was terrified I'd do something entirely wrong - I even got out my meat thermometer to test the water temperature. Yes, I am scared of roller coasters, ax-wielding intruders, and killing yeast with too-hot water.

I started with the rest of the tomato jam - the flavors only intensified in outrageous deliciousness as they hung out in the refrigerator. I sauteed down some small white onions with dried oregano and, once cooled, add those on top. I sliced the kernels off of the third ear of grilled corn (also from the tomato jam post) and some slices of raw zucchini. I smothered the healthy parts with proscuitto (thank you, CC, for this inspiration) and slices of provolone. I also picked up four gorgeous squash blossoms at the market and I had grand plans to ricotta-stuff and pan-fry them. Those flew out the window when I found this pizza dough recipe. I knew then that the flowers would simply be a crowning topping to the pile of Farmers' Market bounty.

The masterpiezza (go with it) went into a 450 degree oven for about 11 minutes.

And holy hell. It was SO good.

The vegetables all skewed sweet - tomatoes, onions, corn, zucchini - so a few shakes of crushed red pepper were required and delicious. The salty proscuitto and the pops of fresh sweet vegetables was beautifully balanced and supremely delicious.

And the dough - ohhhhhhmygosh this dough. Absolutely foolproof. I do not know what took me so long to make my own (kidding, see above re: fear of burning yeast) but I love it. It had that ideal crunch on the bottom but chewiness throughout. I cannot wait to make another at-home pizza with this dough. It's 100% a winner.

We had two of our close friends over and the four of us devoured this thing. There were only a few small pieces leftover which was such a joy. One of my favorite ways to use leftovers? Throw an egg on top and call it breakfast.

A perfect sunny side up, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of sriracha. Is there a more perfect way to start your morning?